Wind & Marine Energy Systems & StructuresAcademic Partners
Callum Guy
PhD Title - Floating Tidal – Investigations of Optimal Floater Design with Respect to Hydrodynamic Responses and Turbine Loads
Here in the Scotland we are blessed with a large, predictable natural resource; tidal streams. Conservative estimates suggest a single location, the Pentland Firth, could produce half the countries electrical demand with conventional bottom mounted tidal stream turbines (TSTs). Through further research it may be possible to exploit this potential far beyond what we currently forecast in an economical manner further reducing the levelized cost of energy for the technology. Like wind turbines (WTs) before them, in many cases it could be more attractive to float TSTs. Having a TST at greater altitude in a shear flow comes with the benefit of increased velocity availability, and by floating TSTs we may have access to more attractive service and maintenance regimes, but these advantages come with significant challenges; namely with the effects of surface waves.
This PhD project will assess how the coupled dynamics of floating TST devices influence turbine performance, and how the system as a whole behaves dynamically with regards to responses to waves and currents. The project will develop a novel tool for modelling the interdependence of floating carrier and rotor dynamics on the OpenFOAMÒ framework. Following which, analysis of current (and future) devices will be conducted using the tool with the ambition of identifying key design characteristics for the selection and design of floating carriers and potential controllers.
Email - callum.guy@ed.ac.uk
Start Date - October 2018
Institution - University of Edinburgh
Degree - MEng (Hons) Liverpool John Moores University
Additional information - Callum has over 13 years’ experience within engineering. Prior to returning to education Callum worked in the Transport and Chemical industries in a hands-on technical capacity, gaining vital knowledge of vehicle and plant machinery systems which uniquely inform his design skills today.